About Menu Decoder
Menu Decoder is for travelers with food allergies who cannot read the local language. You photograph a menu, the AI reads and translates every dish, and each one is flagged for your allergies with a green, yellow or red status.
You set your restrictions once, such as vegan, gluten-free or a peanut allergy, and every check runs against that profile. It also flags traditional ingredients that are commonly used but not listed, such as fish sauce or shrimp paste in a Thai dish. For the dishes marked yellow or green, it supplies the precise wording to check with the kitchen, rendered in the local language.
A staff card in the local language states what you cannot eat so the kitchen understands. The site stresses that it is AI-powered, not a medical device, and that you should always confirm allergies with restaurant staff. It lists $14.99 for 14 days.
Key features
- Photograph a menu in any language
- Translation of each dish on the menu
- Dietary and allergy profile checks
- Hidden ingredient detection
- Questions to ask the kitchen in the local language
- Staff card listing your allergies
Good fit for
- Travelers with allergies eating abroad
- Checking unfamiliar dishes for hidden ingredients
Menu Decoder: questions and answers
- What is Menu Decoder used for?
- Menu Decoder is a phone app for travelers that photographs a foreign menu, translates each dish, flags allergy risks and writes a staff card in the local language. It is a good fit for travelers with allergies eating abroad and checking unfamiliar dishes for hidden ingredients.
- Is Menu Decoder open source?
- No. Menu Decoder is proprietary (closed-source) software and can't be self-hosted. In the Localization category, open-source options include LibreTranslate, Weblate and Lingo.dev.
- What are some alternatives to Menu Decoder?
- Menu Decoder competes with Google Translate, iTranslate and Microsoft Translator.
Open-source alternatives to Menu Decoder
See all
LibreTranslate
Localization
Free and Open Source Machine Translation API. Self-hosted, offline capable and easy to set
AGPL-3.0vs Google Translate★ 17k
Weblate
Localization
Web based localization tool with tight version control integration.
GPL-3.0vs Crowdin★ 6.1k
Lingo.dev
Localization
Open-source localization engineering tools. Connects to Lingo.dev localization engineering
Apache-2.0vs Lokalise★ 5.4k
Tolgee
Localization
Developer & translator friendly web-based localization platform
OSSvs Crowdin★ 4.1kArgos Translate
Localization
Open-source offline translation library written in Python
MITvs Google Translate★ 6.5k
Pontoon
Localization
Mozilla's Localization Platform
BSD-3-Clausevs Transifex★ 1.7k
SaaS alternatives to Menu Decoder
See all
Google Translate
Localization
Free machine translation for text, documents, websites and speech
SaaS
iTranslate
Localization
Mobile translation and voice translator app
SaaS
Microsoft Translator
Localization
Machine translation service and apps from Microsoft
SaaS
DeepL
Localization
Neural machine translation and AI writing assistant for text and documents
SaaS
AIMenuScanner
AI Tools
Scan a menu photo, screenshot or URL to find dishes that may be safe for a gluten-free diet
SaaS
Menu Vista
Localization
Snap a foreign restaurant menu to get translated dishes, allergen detection and nutrition details
SaaS

